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PRO Housing Grant

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The City of Iowa City has been awarded $3,752,000 in PRO Housing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The purpose of the grant funds is to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing development.  

View the City's PRO Housing Action Plan document now.
View the 2023 PRO Housing Grant HUD Profile.

PRO Housing Activities 

Comprehensive Plan

An identified barrier to the production of affordable housing is the City’s existing land use policies embodied in its Comprehensive and District Plans. By investing in a revised Comprehensive Plan, the City ensures its adopted goals and strategies are closely tied to the community’s current priorities and that development is well-situated to address existing disparities and prepare for an uncertain future. This update is also essential to lay the groundwork for comprehensively reforming the City’s Zoning Code to better align with the community’s increasing focus on climate action and resiliency, equity, and housing affordability.

Parking Study

The City’s minimum on-site parking standards are often identified as inhibiting the construction of new housing. The purpose of this activity is to conduct a comprehensive parking study to evaluate the extent to which parking standards should be modified. This would be followed by Zoning Code text amendments to right-size the City’s parking standards such that they no longer act as a barrier to new housing or housing affordability.

  • Status: Planned Summer 2025
  • Agreement

City Initiated Rezoning

The land entitlement process is an identified regulatory barrier, especially for higher density and lower cost housing types. Consequently, the City will initiate a rezoning to allow higher density uses and increase the supply of lower cost housing types in areas identified as appropriate through the Comprehensive Plan update process. A City-initiated rezoning allows a more holistic and proactive approach to ensure areas intended for higher densities are suitably zoned and minimizes uncertainty for housing providers.

  • Status: Planned Fall 2026

ICHA Feasibility Study for Housing Development Division

The City has a lack of local development capacity, especially for affordable housing projects. The City intends to explore the creation of a development arm for the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA) to directly undertake affordable housing projects. 

Housing Counseling

The City will use funds to offer housing counseling services as a proactive way to help lower income households navigate the pressing housing challenges that they face.

  • Status: Planned Fall 2025
Affordable Housing Development 

The City will also use funds to jumpstart a pilot affordable housing development project that would build internal affordable housing development experience and provide permanent affordable units. The City already owns 21 affordable rental units that are not federally funded. The goal is to add units so the program can become self-sustaining with revenues from developer fees and rental income. This project will lay the groundwork for continued viability of the proposed division.

PRO Housing Administration

The City will ensure effective administration of the PRO Housing activities and will complete HUD reporting requirements.

  • Status: Underway

Questions can be directed to Sam Turnbull (Grants Specialist) at sturnbull@iowa-city.org or 319-356-5237